It is no secret that Microsoft is interested in “reality” based technologies, as evidenced by the company’s HoloLens augmented reality headset. So far the experience has been pretty much limited to the PC, but in an announcement on its Windows blog, Microsoft has revealed their plans to bring mixed reality content to its gaming platforms as well.
According to Microsoft’s post, “We’re also excited to share that Windows Mixed Reality experiences will light up on other devices over time, beyond desktop and Microsoft HoloLens. Our plan is to bring mixed reality content to the Xbox One family of devices, including Project Scorpio, in 2018.”
In the same post, Microsoft also revealed the Acer Windows Mixed Reality Development Edition headset that was announced at GDC. According to Microsoft, “When we begin the phased rollout of the developer kits this month, the kits will include the Acer headset, along with documentation and access to Windows 10 Insider preview builds and the software development kit (SDK) to enable developers to build mixed reality applications.”
It will be interesting to see what this will do for the gaming landscape. We know that Apple is also interested in augmented reality technology, but for now it definitely looks like Microsoft is ahead of the game with their mixed reality efforts.